[17] Rescue 101

The morning sun painted my dorm room in soft light as I sprawled on my bed, phone pressed to my ear. The familiar sound of Noel shuffling papers came through the speaker - probably multitasking as usual.

"Morning, sis. You doing alright?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Noel's voice carried that mix of exhaustion and warmth I'd grown used to. "How's dorm life treating you?"

I rolled onto my side, watching dust motes dance in the sunbeam. "Better than expected. The rooms are decent, though I had to buy some more stuff to make it feel less... institutional."

"Please tell me you didn't blow your entire savings on unnecessary decorations."

"Define unnecessary." I grinned at her exasperated sigh. "Relax, I just got some basic stuff. A decent coffee maker, some posters, you know - the essentials."

"A coffee maker? Since when do you drink coffee?"

"Since Tetsutetsu introduced me to his special blend. Guy's got surprisingly refined taste." I stretched, joints popping. "Actually, most of 1-B's pretty cool. Way different from what I expected."

Papers rustled on her end. "Oh? Do tell. And what about that Camie girl from earlier?"

"Camie? She's..." I paused, searching for the right words. "She's good people. Really good friend material."

"Just friend material?" The teasing note in Noel's voice was unmistakable.

"For now, yeah. We vibe well, but I'm not trying to rush anything." I sat up, running a hand through my hair. "Besides, there's this other girl that's got everyone curious - Jane Doe."

"Doe? Like John Doe? That's... odd."

"Tell me about it. She's this walking enigma who keeps changing her story every time someone asks about her background. Yesterday she told Tsuburaba she was raised by circus performers in Romania. Day before that, she was apparently a former child prodigy from Switzerland."

"Sounds... concerning."

I chuckled. "Nah, it's more amusing than anything. She's got these cute little rat ears poking through her hair - part of her quirk - but the way she moves in combat practice... it's something else. Like watching water flow, if water could kick your ass six ways to Sunday."

"Language," Noel chided automatically.

"Sorry. But seriously, you should see her fight. Even Kendo was impressed, and she's like the mom of the group." I stood up, pacing the room. "Actually, Kendo's another surprise. Expected some stuck-up honor student type, but she's pretty laid back when she's not keeping Monoma in check."

"Monoma?"

"Class loudmouth. Thinks he's God's gift to heroics. Though..." I paused, remembering yesterday's conversation in the common room. "He's got some decent points when he's not being dramatic about everything. We had this whole discussion about quirk theory that actually made sense."

The sound of a chair creaking came through the phone - Noel probably leaning back from her desk. "Sounds like you're settling in well. Making friends?"

"Yeah, actually. Tetsutetsu, Todo and I hit the gym together, Tsuburaba's got this gaming setup he shares, and even Shishida - big guy, looks like one of those Big Foot from America - he's got this whole philosophical side. to him."

"And the girls? Besides Camie, Kendo and this Jane person?"

I flopped back onto my bed. "They're cool. Tokage's got a wicked sense of humor, Kodai's quiet but scary smart, and Komori... well, she tried to grow mushrooms in Monoma's hair while he was napping. That was pretty hilarious."

"Akira..." Noel's tone turned serious. "You're being careful, right? With your quirk?"

"Always am." I glanced at my hand, flexing it. "No one's noticed anything weird yet. Just the usual energy absorption stuff."

A moment of silence stretched between us before Noel spoke again. "Good. That's... good. I should get going - got a meeting in twenty minutes."

"Another one? Sis, you're working too hard."

"Says the guy who's about to start hero training." Her voice softened. "Take care of yourself, okay? And call me if you need anything."

"Same to you. And Noel?" I hesitated. "Thanks. For everything."

"Sap," she said, but I could hear her smile. "Go be a hero, little brother."

The call ended, and I stared at my phone screen for a moment. Time to face my first official day at U.A., where everything felt simultaneously exactly like and nothing like what I'd expected.

I tossed my phone onto the bed and grabbed my uniform from where it hung on the closet door. The gray blazer, white dress shirt and dark blue-green pants were crisp and new, still carrying that fresh-from-the-store smell. I pulled them on, adjusted the red tie, and studied my reflection in the mirror.

"Not bad," I muttered, reaching for my small jewelry box. The silver earrings caught the morning light as I put them in - one simple stud in each ear, plus two small hoops in my left. School regulations allowed "modest" accessories, and I planned to take full advantage of that loophole.

"My brother!" Todo's voice boomed through my door, followed by three rapid knocks. "Are you prepared for another glorious day of academic pursuit?"

I grinned. "Give me a sec, Todo."

"Shall I regale you with my latest theories about the perfect woman while you finish?"

"Please don't." I grabbed my bag and opened the door to find Todo standing there, uniform impeccable despite his massive frame. He'd somehow managed to keep his top-knot perfectly centered.

"But Akira, I've been thinking - what if we expanded our criteria to include-"

"Nope." I stepped past him, locking my door. "Too early for your philosophical deep-dives into why women who can recite the entire works of Shakespeare backwards are superior."

"That was two night's ago theory." Todo fell into step beside me. "This week I'm considering the merits of-"

"Todo!" Kendo's voice carried up the stairs. "Stop harassing Sakamoto and get down here. We're doing a uniform check."

The common room was packed with our classmates, Kendo moving between them with the efficiency of an experienced mom-friend. She straightened Tsuburaba's crooked tie while simultaneously telling Monoma to fix his collar.

"Morning, boss lady," I said, earning an eye-roll from Kendo.

"At least you're dressed properly." She glanced at my ears. "Mostly. Those earrings aren't regulation."

"Neither is Tokage's third eye shadow color, but here we are."

"Hey!" Tokage called from across the room. "Don't rat me out, Aki-boy!"

"Fam, your makeup is straight fire though," Camie chimed in, sprawled across one of the common room chairs. "Like, total queen energy."

Jane sat perched on the arm of Camie's chair, watching everyone with that perpetual half-smile of hers.

"Yo, Jane," I called out. "What's today's backstory?"

She tilted her head, rat ears twitching. "I was raised by a secret society of militant librarians in the mountains of Tibet."

"That's a new one." I dropped onto the couch next to Tetsutetsu, who was chugging his morning coffee like it was life itself. "The circus one was better."

"The circus one lacked gravitas," Jane replied. "Also, your left earring is crooked."

I reached up to adjust it, but Todo's massive hand got there first, straightening it with surprising delicacy.

"A true friend ensures their brother's accessories are properly aligned," he declared. "Though I must say, your choice in earrings lacks the refined aesthetic that-"

"Todo," Kendo cut in, "if you start another lecture about aesthetics, we'll be late."

"But Kendo, how can we hope to become proper heroes without understanding the fundamental principles of-"

"Guys," Komori's quiet voice somehow cut through the chatter. "There's a mushroom growing on Monoma's collar again."

Silence fell as everyone turned to look at Monoma, who reached up slowly to touch the small purple fungus sprouting from his uniform.

"Komori," he said with forced calm, "we talked about this."

"It's not me this time!" She held up her hands. "I think... um... you might need to wash your uniform more often?"

Tsuburaba snorted coffee through his nose, setting off a chain reaction of laughter. Even Kendo cracked a smile while helping Monoma deal with his unwanted accessory.

"Alright, let's go everyone," Kendo called out once the chaos died down.

"Excellent!" Todo clapped me on the shoulder hard enough to make me stumble. "We can continue our discussion about the importance of-"

"No philosophy before nine AM," I said, falling into line beside him. "That's my one rule."

"What about the rule about not using your quirk before coffee?" Tetsutetsu asked from behind us.

"Or the one about proper hair care?" Tokage added.

"Or the thing with the socks?" Tsuburaba chimed in.

I pointed at each of them in turn. "Those are guidelines, not rules. There's a difference."

"Sure there is, Aki-boy," Camie said, patting my shoulder as she passed. "Sure there is."

We filed out of the dorm, twenty heroes-in-training trying to look professional while Monoma frantically picked mushrooms off his collar and Todo whispered theories about the perfect woman in my ear.

The walk to the main campus was a blur of Todo's increasingly elaborate theories about why women who could solve Fermat's Last Theorem made superior life partners. I'd mastered the art of tactical nodding while letting my mind wander.

U.A.'s main building loomed ahead, all glass and modern architecture trying its best to look intimidating. It mostly succeeded. We followed the clearly marked path to Class 1-B's designated floor, where a massive door emblazoned with "1-B" stood like some kind of statement piece.

"Think they're compensating for something?" I muttered as we filed in.

The classroom itself was surprisingly normal - standard desks arranged in neat rows, a massive whiteboard up front, and windows offering a decent view of the campus grounds. No assigned seats meant everyone was doing that awkward dance of trying to figure out where to sit without making it weird.

I claimed a spot by the window in the fourth row, partly for the view and partly because it gave me good sightlines to both exits.

"Excellent choice, my brother!" Todo's voice boomed as he dropped into the seat in front of me. "The feng shui of this position will surely enhance our learning experience."

"That's... not how feng shui works," I started, but was cut off by Camie sliding into the desk to my right.

"Fam, this is totally giving me those anime protagonist vibes," she said, propping her chin on her hand. "You just need like, a piece of toast in your mouth while you run to school."

"I prefer bagels." I heard Jane settle into the seat behind me more than saw her. "Speaking of breakfast clichés, did anyone actually eat this morning?"

"Does coffee count?" Tetsutetsu called from across the room.

"Coffee always counts," I replied, then turned to Jane. "Let me guess - in one of your many past lives, you were a nutritionist?"

"Close. I was the royal food taster for a small Baltic monarchy." She tapped her pencil against her desk. "Tragic story, actually. Involved three goats, a cursed emerald, and an extremely aggressive swan."

"The swan's a nice touch."

"I thought so."

Kendo was doing her best to organize everyone while Tokage had managed to separate her head from her body and was using it to chat with people in multiple conversations simultaneously.

"My brother," Todo leaned back in his chair, nearly crushing my desk with his massive frame, "have you considered the philosophical implications of choosing a window seat? The symbolism of positioning oneself at the boundary between academic pursuit and the natural world..."

"Todo, it's too early for-"

"The dichotomy of inside versus outside! The metaphorical threshold between-"

"Yo, is he always like this?" Camie asked, gesturing at Todo with her phone.

"Worse before lunch," I said. "Hey Todo, didn't you want to tell Camie about your theory regarding women who can recite pi to a thousand digits?"

Todo's eyes lit up as he spun to face Camie. "Ah! You see, the dedication required to memorize such sequences speaks to a fundamental appreciation for the infinite nature of mathematical beauty, which in turn suggests..."

I caught Jane's quiet snicker behind me as Camie's expression shifted from amusement to mild concern.

"By the way," Jane whispered, leaning forward slightly, "your left earring is crooked again."

I reached up to fix it, wondering if she actually noticed these things or just liked messing with me. Probably both.

The classroom door slid open with enough force to make Todo pause mid-lecture about mathematical beauty. Our homeroom teacher, Sekijiro Kan, strode in with the presence of someone who could bench press a car - which, given his hero status, he probably could.

"Good morning, Class 1-B," he said, voice carrying to every corner of the room.

"Good morning, Sensei!" The class responded in unison, though Monoma's voice carried a bit too enthusiastically.

Kan reached the podium and pulled out what looked like a stack of papers. "Before we begin, I want to make something clear - you're not here to learn how to fight villains."

That got everyone's attention. Even Jane stopped tapping her pencil behind me.

"You're here," Kan continued, "to learn how to save lives. The media likes to focus on the flashy battles and dramatic showdowns, but that's not what being a hero is about. Look at your schedules."

He held up one of the papers, and started passing them out. I scanned mine as soon as it landed on my desk.

U.A. University Hero Course - Class 1-B Schedule

Daily Schedule

8:30 - 9:00 | Homeroom

Monday

9:15 - 10:45 | Combat Fundamentals

11:00 - 12:30 | Mathematics

12:30 - 13:30 | Lunch Break

13:30 - 15:00 | Modern Literature

15:15 - 16:45 | Rescue Operations

Tuesday

9:15 - 10:45 | Modern Hero Art History

11:00 - 12:30 | Mathematics

12:30 - 13:30 | Lunch Break

13:30 - 15:00 | Foundational Hero Studies

15:15 - 16:45 | Disaster Response Training

Wednesday

9:15 - 10:45 | English

11:00 - 12:30 | Mathematics Applications

12:30 - 13:30 | Lunch Break

13:30 - 16:45 | Hero Basic Training

Thursday

9:15 - 10:45 | Modern Literature & Communications

11:00 - 12:30 | Structural Studies

12:30 - 13:30 | Lunch Break

13:30 - 15:00 | Hero Ethics

15:15 - 16:45 | Search & Rescue Techniques

Friday

9:15 - 10:45 | Social Studies

11:00 - 12:30 | Financial Mathematics

12:30 - 13:30 | Lunch Break

13:30 - 16:45 | Hero Basic Training

Additional Notes:

Optional Study Hall: 17:00 - 18:30

Emergency drills can occur at any time

Schedule subject to change for special events

"Notice something?" Kan asked. "More than half your practical training hours focus on search, rescue, and disaster response. Why? Because that's what heroes do. We save people. The villain fights you see on TV? That's maybe twenty percent of the job."

Todo's hand shot up. "Sensei! Does this philosophical approach to heroism not mirror the fundamental-"

"No philosophy before lunch, Todo," Kan cut him off, earning a few snickers from the class. "Now, let's go over your daily schedule. Homeroom starts at 8:30 sharp. If you're late, you'll be doing extra rescue drills after class."

He pulled up the schedule on the digital board. Mondays looked brutal - Combat Fundamentals first thing in the morning, followed by Math.

"Mondays and Fridays end with practical training," Kan explained. "You'll be tired. Good. Get used to working when you're exhausted. Heroes don't get to clock out when they're tired."

"What about the study hall, Sensei?" Kendo asked from the front row.

"Optional, but recommended. You'll need it." Kan's eyes swept across the room. "This isn't high school anymore. You're training to save lives. That means knowing structural engineering well enough to navigate a collapsed building. Understanding weather patterns to predict disaster movements. Mastering first aid and emergency response."

I glanced at the Thursday schedule - Structural Studies right before lunch. Made sense. Can't save people from a falling building if you don't know how it's falling.

"Yo, Sensei," Camie raised her hand. "Like, what's with all the math though?"

"Try calculating safe evacuation routes without understanding vectors," Kan replied. "Or managing rescue logistics without statistics. Math saves lives."

That shut everyone up. Even Todo seemed to be processing this new perspective on heroics.

"One more thing," Kan added. "Emergency drills can and will happen at any time. During class, during lunch, at three in the morning - doesn't matter. When the alarm sounds, you respond. Just like real heroes."

I felt Jane lean forward slightly. "What's the record for fastest emergency response time?"

"Class 1-A set it two years ago. Two minutes, fourteen seconds from alarm to full deployment." Kan's grin showed his sharp teeth. "I expect you to beat it."

Monoma practically vibrated with competitive energy. "Class 1-B will-"

"Save the rivalry speech, Monoma," Kan interrupted. "Focus on saving lives first. Now, any questions about the schedule?"

Several hands went up, including Todo's, but the alarm cut through the classroom before anyone could speak.

"Time for Combat Fundamentals," Kan announced. "Change into your gym uniforms and meet at Gym Beta in fifteen minutes. Don't be late."

As we filed out, I caught myself thinking about those rescue training hours. Everyone came to U.A. dreaming of being the next big hero, taking down villains in spectacular fights. But Kan was right - that's not what being a hero was about.

I glanced at my schedule one more time. Search and Rescue Techniques, Disaster Response, Structural Studies... this was the real work. The unglamorous, essential work of keeping people alive.

"Deep thoughts, Aki-boy?" Camie appeared beside me as we headed for the changing rooms.

"Just wondering how Todo's going to philosophize his way through structural engineering."

Behind us, Todo's voice boomed: "The poetic symmetry of load-bearing calculations-"

"No philosophy before lunch!" The entire class shouted back.